Transport element for transporting stones with a round cut and method for such a stone in such a transport element

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a transport element (1) for stones (4) with a round cut, comprising a holder (2) with a pavilion recess (11) for each stone (4), with a contact part (12) with a taper which deviates by maximum 10° from the taper of the pavilion (8), for supporting thereon a contact zone of the pavilion (8) between the girdle (7) and the culet (9), so that the girdle (7) remains outside the contact part (12), and wherein the pavilion recess (11) is formed such that the stone (4) in the pavilion recess (11) touches only this contact part (12). The invention also concerns a method for placing a stone (4) in a specific embodiment of such a transport element (1).

The invention concerns a transport element for transporting stones witha round cut with table, crown, girdle, pavilion and culet, such asprecious stones, semi-precious stones and non-precious stones,comprising a holder in which the stones can be placed for transport. Theinvention also concerns a method for placing a stone in a specificembodiment of such a transport element.

Round cut here means a diamond cut or any other variants with table,crown, girdle, pavilion and culet.

For setting a stone such as a precious stone, semi-precious stone ornon-precious stone in a workpiece, such as jewellery or a watch,mechanical setting devices have been developed as described in BE 1 019011 A3.

To transport the stones to be set to such a setting device or move thembetween two different modules of such a setting device, varioussolutions have already been designed, all of which however havedisadvantages.

The precision and handling of both the stone and the workpiece is infact very decisive for the final appearance of the stone in theworkpiece.

Where stones are placed freely in a holder or freely in an accommodationspace between a holder and a cover for transport, the orientation of thestones cannot be retained during transport. After transport, theorientation of the stones must be detected and the stones must ifnecessary be re-oriented in the desired direction for setting. Inaddition, it may be necessary to sort the stones after transport.Furthermore, there is a risk that the stones will damage each otherduring transport.

Where stones are placed in a holder with cavities for each stone, thestones can be damaged by tilting in this cavity, or the holder itselfcan quickly be damaged by the stones being placed therein.

To prevent such problems, Swarovski has developed a transport devicewherein the stones are releasably affixed to an adhesive substrate in aknown position. In the setting device, the stones are released from thesubstrate in the known position for setting. A great disadvantage ofsuch a transport element is that, in particular with brilliant stonessuch as for example diamonds, the brilliance of the stone can be largelylost due to the adhesive which remains stuck to the stone after it hasbeen affixed to the substrate.

The object of this invention is to provide a transport element fortransporting stones with a round cut, wherein the stones do not losetheir brilliance on transport and wherein the stones are not damagedduring transport.

This object of the invention is achieved by providing a transportelement for transporting stones with a round cut with a table, crown,girdle, pavilion and culet, such as precious stones, semi-preciousstones or non-precious stones, comprising a holder on which the stonescan be placed for transport, wherein the holder has a top surface inwhich a pavilion recess is made for each stone for accommodating theculet and at least part of the pavilion of the corresponding stone,wherein this pavilion recess has at least one contact part which isformed tapering away from the top surface with a taper which deviates bymaximum 10° from the corresponding taper of the pavilion, for supportingthereon a contact zone of the pavilion between the girdle and the culetso that the girdle remains outside the contact part, and wherein thepavilion recess is formed such that after being placed in the pavilionrecess, said stone touches only and exclusively this contact part.

In such a transport element according to the invention, the stones aresupported only at a contact zone which is located between the girdle andthe culet. Because the contact part of the pavilion recess has for thisa taper which deviates by maximum 10° from the taper of the pavilion ofthe stone to be transported, it is ensured that the stone cannot tilt.Because secondly it is ensured that the girdle remains outside thecontact part, it is ensured that this stone is well supported but doesnot seize in the pavilion recess. In this way, the chance of damage tothe stone during transport is greatly reduced.

The taper of the contact part in such a transport element is preferablygreater than the taper of the pavilion.

When placing a stone in such a pavilion recess with a taper of thecontact part which is greater than the taper of the pavilion, thecontact part guides the stone to its desired position because thepavilion of the stone is guided by this contact part during thepositioning movement.

In a particular embodiment of a transport element according to thisinvention, the transport element has a cover, as well as the holder,wherein the cover has a top surface in which a corresponding crownrecess is made for each stone, for accommodating the table and at leastpart of the crown of the stone, wherein the crown recess has a smallestdimension at the level of the girdle which is smaller than the sum ofthe smallest diameter of the contact part and the diameter of thegirdle, and which is greater than the greatest diameter of the contactpart, wherein when the top surfaces of the cover and the holder arebrought against each other, the pavilion recess and the crown recess fora said stone extend above each other and together form an accommodationspace for the stone, and wherein the pavilion recess and the crownrecess are formed such that said stone touches only and exclusively thiscontact part when it is placed in the accommodation space with itscontact zone resting against the contact part.

By transporting the stones between a holder and a cover in accommodationspaces for accommodating the stones, it can be ensured that the stonesare transported free from grease, dirt or adhesives. This isadvantageous above all for stones of which the brilliance may be lostunder the effect of such influences. This also makes it possible to movethe stones mechanically between different processing devices of asetting device for setting these stones.

Said dimensions of the crown recess ensure that when the transportelement suffers a shock on transport for example, whereby a stone jumpsup slightly, the contact part can always guide the stone back to itsdesired position without the stone being damaged.

Each crown recess of the transport element according to this inventionfurthermore preferably has a depth which is smaller than the height ofthe corresponding stone, so that the height over which a stone can jumpup when the transport element suffers a shock remains limited, in orderto reduce the risk of damage to the stone even further.

Even more preferably, each crown recess has a depth which correspondsapproximately to 0.47 times the diameter of the girdle less minimum 0.03mm and maximum 0.07 mm. Thanks to this further restriction of depth ofthe crown recess, it can be ensured that the stone cannot possibly tiltin its accommodation space. The pallet can then be turned in alldirections, wherein the stones sit loosely in the accommodation spacebut the position of the stone in the accommodation space remains almostthe same (this effectively does not tilt at all relative to theaccommodation space, but only with the tilting of the transportelement). In this way, the possibilities for mechanically placing stonesin such a transport element and mechanically removing the stones fromthe transport element are greatly increased. For example, a stone may beplaced on its table in the crown recess following the method describedhere in this invention, after which the transport element is closed andinverted so that these stones come to lie with their contact zone on thecontact part. Thanks to said margin, not only can said stone be placedin the corresponding accommodation space before transport, but thetransport element can also be used to transport stones with slightlydifferent dimensions in this accommodation space.

To simplify production of a transport element according to theinvention, each crown recess is preferably formed largely cylindrical.

To simplify the production of such a transport element further and to beable to accommodate the stone in a self-centring fashion in theaccommodation space, each accommodation space is preferably designedsymmetrical relative to an axis which coincides approximately with theaxis of the stone when the corresponding stone is placed on the contactpart.

Further preferably, the contact part of each pavilion recess is designedconical at an angle which is more obtuse than the angle of the pavilion.Even more preferably, this angle of the contact part is thenapproximately 100°. This choice of angle makes a transport elementaccording to the invention particularly suitable for transporting moststones with a round cut which are intended to be set into jewellery. Bychoosing this angle, for production the same drilling head may be usedto make the contact part in pavilion recesses of transport elementsaccording to this invention for several types of stones with differentdimensions.

In a particular embodiment of a transport element according to theinvention, the contact part of each pavilion recess borders the topsurface of the holder. Allowing the contact part to border the topsurface of the holder in this way simplifies not only production of sucha transport element but also the gripping of the stones to remove thesefrom the pavilion recess. A stone can then for example be liftedmanually from the recess using pincers, or it can also be lifted moreeasily from the recess mechanically because it is easier to grip withtools.

Each pavilion recess of a transport element according to this inventionfurther preferably also comprises a cylindrical part which connects tothe contact part away from the top surface. Furthermore, each pavilionrecess preferably has a base which is formed conical. The distancebetween the base of a pavilion recess and the contact part is furtherpreferably greater than the distance between the contact part of thecorresponding stone and the culet.

A specific embodiment of a transport element according to this inventionis made largely of steel. Such a transport element is particularlysuitable for transporting for example diamonds, since it is not easilydamaged by the diamonds. For production, a transport element accordingto the invention can be made relatively easily out of steel. Inaddition, transport elements according to the invention may be made ofother materials. For stones which are not made of diamond, for example amaterial may be chosen which allows cheaper production of the transportelement.

A particularly preferred embodiment of a transport element according tothis invention has locking means for locking the cover to the holder. Inthis way, it can be ensured that the transport element can only beopened intentionally. On tilting of the transport element for example,it can be ensured that this is not accidentally opened by incorrectmanipulation. Even more preferably, it can be ensured that these lockingmeans can only be operated with a suitable key, which for example isonly made available to authorised persons. Alternatively oradditionally, such a key may only be available on the various processingunits of a setting device, for opening the transport element only whenthe stones need to be manipulated by the setting device.

More specifically, the holder may be provided with at least two lockingpins, each of which is provided with a gripping groove on the periphery,wherein the cover is provided with two corresponding guide openings inwhich these locking pins can be placed, and with two correspondinglocking elements which are placed at the guide openings and are moveablebetween a first position, in which these are intended to open the guideopenings so the corresponding locking pins can move freely in and out ofthe guide openings, and a second position, in which they are intended toengage in the corresponding gripping grooves of the correspondinglocking pins when these are placed in the guide openings, and whereinsaid locking pins, guide openings and locking elements form part of saidlocking means.

In such an embodiment, next to each guide opening, the cover preferablycomprises a release opening with a diameter which is greater than thediameter of the guide opening, wherein a release pin with acorresponding diameter can be placed in each release opening, andwherein each locking element is configured as a spring element which islargely positioned around the corresponding guide opening andcorresponding release opening, so that when a release pin is placed inthe release opening, the spring element deflects and moves to its firstposition, and when the release pin is removed from the release opening,the spring element is brought into its second position under its springforce.

Said locking pins and release pins are preferably each provided with aconical top so that on insertion in the corresponding openings, theseare guided in a self-centring fashion to the centre of the openings, sothat on slight deviations of positioning of the pins relative to theopenings, the transport element does not unnecessarily suffer a shock.The pins and the parts of the transport element are here placed relativeto each other largely in a very guiding manner.

With the above-mentioned specific method according to the invention forplacing a stone in a transport element according to this invention, thecover is positioned with the crown recesses upward, the stone is laid onits table in the crown recess, the holder with the pavilion recessesdownward is placed onto the cover, and the transport element is invertedso that the holder is below the cover. If the transport element herecomprises locking elements, before inversion of the transport element,first the cover is preferably locked to the holder.

The invention will now be explained with reference to the detaileddescription which follows of a preferred embodiment of a transportelement according to this invention, and a method for placing a stone insuch a transport element. The purpose of this description is to giveexclusively illustrative examples and indicate further advantages andfeatures of such a transport element and such a method, and it may nottherefore be interpreted as a restriction of the area of application ofthe invention or of the protective rights claimed in the claims.

In this detailed description, by means of reference numerals, referenceis made to the enclosed drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a transport element in perspective withholder and cover of this embodiment at a distance from each other,wherein the holder is shown at the bottom and the cover at the top;

FIG. 2 shows the transport element from FIG. 1 in perspective withholder and cover at a distance from each other, with the cover at thebottom and the holder at the top;

FIG. 3 shows the holder of the transport element from FIG. 1 in topview;

FIG. 4 shows the cover of the transport element from FIG. 1 in top view;

FIG. 5 shows a pavilion recess in the holder of the transport elementfrom FIG. 1 in more detail, in a local cross section of this holder;

FIG. 6 shows a crown recess in the cover of the transport element fromFIG. 1 in more detail, in a local cross section of this cover;

FIG. 7 shows diagrammatically a stone with a round cut in side view;

FIG. 8 shows diagrammatically the stone from FIG. 7 in an accommodationspace in the transport element from FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 shows diagrammatically the choice of some dimensions of theaccommodation space of the transport element from FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 shows the locking means of the transport element from FIG. 1which form part of the cover in more detail, in a detail of the top viewof this cover;

FIG. 11 shows the locking means from FIG. 10 in more detail, with adetail of the longitudinal section of this cover;

FIG. 12 shows a key for opening the locking means of the transportelement from FIG. 1.

The transport element (1) according to the invention shown comprises aholder (2) and a cover (3) which are suitable for transporting stones(4) with a round cut.

A stone (4) with a round cut is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 7) andcomprises a table (5), a crown (6), a girdle (7), a pavilion (8) and aculet (9). A brilliant cut is a particular example of such a round cut.A brilliant cut is further characterized by a circular girdle, with atleast 32 facets in the crown and at least 24 facets in the pavilion.Examples of stones (4) cut in this way are precious stones orsemi-precious stones or non-precious stones, which are typicallyintended for setting in workpieces such as for example jewellery, e.g.rings, bracelets, watches etc.

The holder (2) of the transport element (1) shown is, as depicted inFIG. 3, provided with a matrix of pavilion recesses (11) while the cover(3) is provided with a matrix of corresponding crown recesses (16), asdepicted in FIG. 4.

The stones (4) may for example, depending on their dimensions, beassigned to a specific place on the matrix on such a holder (2), whereina specific stone (4) can then be found again at this particular site inorder for example to be placed in a gap allocated to this in aworkpiece.

The dimensions of such a transport element (1), the dimensions of therecesses (11, 16) and the number of recesses (11, 16) may furthermore beadapted depending on the stones (4) to be transported, according tousage and/or demand.

A pavilion recess (11) of the holder (2) is shown separately in FIG. 5.This pavilion recess (11) comprises a conical contact part (12) whichborders the surface (10) of the holder, a cylindrical part (13) whichborders the contact part (12), and a conical base (14).

The pavilion recess (11) shown is provided for accommodating the culet(9) and part of the pavilion (8) of a stone (4), so that the girdle (7),the crown (6) and the table (5) of such a stone (4) remain outside thepavilion recess (11).

The conically formed contact part (12) is provided to offer a supportzone for the pavilion (8) of the stone (4) between the girdle (7) andthe culet (9) of the stone (4), as shown in FIG. 8. The angle (α_(a)) ofthe conical contact part (12) is here selected as 100° so that with thesame drilling head, a multiplicity of pavilion recesses (11) can beproduced which are suitable for transport of the most common stones (4).This top angle (α_(a)) of the conically designed contact part (12) isalways, according to the invention, selected so this deviates by maximum10° from the top angle (α_(s)) of the pavilion (8) of the stones (4)which are to be transported therein.

In the embodiment shown, the contact part (12) is selected so that thetaper thereof is greater than the taper of the pavilion (8) of stones(4) which are intended to be transported therein. In this way, a stone(4) can be placed in a self-centring fashion in such a pavilion recess,wherein it is guided smoothly to its desired position by guidance of itspavilion (8) over this contact part (12). In such an embodiment, anadditional cavity (13, 14) is provided on the contact part (12), inwhich the culet (9) of the stone (4) can be freely suspended so that thestone (4) rests against the contact part (12) only with said contactzone between the girdle (7) and the culet (9).

In an alternative embodiment of a transport element (1) according tothis invention, it may be decided to make the taper of the contact part(12) smaller than the taper of the pavilion (8) of stones (4) which areintended to be transported therein. In such an alternative embodiment,it is not always necessary to provide an additional cavity on thecontact part, since the contact part (12) may itself be designed suchthat the culet (9) is freely suspended therein. However here too,preferably, an additional cavity is provided on the contact part (12) sothat on tilting of the stone (4) in the pavilion recess (11), the culet(9) cannot hit the edges of the contact part (12).

The embodiments described above comprise conically formed contact parts(12) which are preferably produced by boring. In alternativeembodiments, the contact part (12) need not necessarily be formedconical but may for example also be curved.

The contact parts (12) also need not necessarily be designed to makecontact with the full periphery of the stones (4), or to offer supportfor a stone (4) over its entire periphery.

In the embodiment shown, the greatest diameter (D_(a)) of the contactpart (12) is selected as the diameter (D_(r)) of the girdle (7) of thesmallest stone (4) from the group of stones (4) to be transported withsuch a transport element (1), less 0.1 mm. The largest stones (4)transported therewith then preferably have a diameter D_(r) which is 0.3mm smaller than the greatest diameter D_(a) of the contact part (12), sothat part of the pavilion (8) always extends with a certain height(H_(d)) above the contact part (12) (see FIG. 8), and these stones (4)can still be easily removed from the pavilion recess (11). Because partof the pavilion (8) extends above the contact part (12), the girdle (7)of the stone (4) also certainly lies above this contact part (12),whereby the stone (4) cannot become seized in this pavilion recess (11)by its girdle (7).

The diameter (D_(p)) of the cylindrical part (13) of the pavilion recess(11) (this is also the smallest diameter of the contact part (12)) isselected in the embodiment shown as the greatest diameter (D_(a)) of thecontact part (12) less 0.3 mm. The height (H_(p)) over which thecylindrical part (13) extends relative to the upper surface (10) ispreferably at least 0.4 times the diameter (D_(r)) of the smallest stone(4) of the group of stones (4) to be transported therein.

In the embodiment shown, the conically shaped base (14) is also formedby boring the cylindrical part (13) and for this has a top angle (α_(b))which is 120°.

In the embodiment shown, the transport element (1) is intended to bemade of steel. The various parts (12, 13, 14) of the pavilion recess(11) may be produced by boring and connect to each other at angles.Depending on the production method and material from which a transportelement (1) according to the invention is made, the edges at which theparts (12, 13, 14) meet each other may also for example be rounded.

A crown recess (16) of the cover (3) of the transport element depictedis shown separately in FIG. 6. This crown recess (16) is formed largelycylindrical and is provided to hold therein the table (5), the crown(6), the girdle (7) and part of the pavilion (8) of a stone (4), asshown in FIG. 8.

The diameter (D_(k)) of the crown recess (16) is preferably smaller thanthe sum of the smallest diameter (D_(p)) of the contact part (12) andthe diameter (D_(r)) of the girdle (7), and greater than the greatestdiameter (D_(a)) of the contact part (12). The diameter (D_(k)) of thecrown recess (16) of the embodiment shown is selected such that this is0.1 mm smaller (see FIG. 9, selected as 2*d=0.05 mm) than the sum of thesmallest diameter (D_(p)) of the contact part (12) and the diameter ofthe girdle (Dr) of the smallest stone (4) of the group of stones (4) tobe transported with the transport element (1).

The depth (H_(k)) of this crown recess (16) is preferably selected asapproximately 0.47 times the diameter (D_(r)) of the girdle (7) of thesmallest stone (4) of the group of stones (4) to be transported with thetransport element (1), less a minimum of 0.03 mm and maximum 0.07 mm.

Depending on the production method, the edges surrounding thecylindrical cavity (16) of the crown recess (16) may for example also berounded or chamfered. In the embodiment shown, the transport element (1)is intended to be made of steel and these edges are formed angular.

For the embodiment shown of a transport element (1) according to theinvention, the table below shows preferred dimensions for transportingstones (4) with dimensions within selected margins of dimensions. Suchpreferred dimensions may also be estimated for other ranges of stones(4) to be transported.

Stone Holder Cover D_(r) D_(k) H_(k) D_(a) D_(p) H_(p) mm Mm mm mm mm mm0.70-0.775 1.00 0.28 0.60 0.40 0.30 0.80-0.975 1.20 0.35 0.70 0.50 0.401.00-1.175 1.50 0.40 0.90 0.60 0.50 1.20-1.475 1.80 0.50 1.10 0.70 0.601.50-1.875 2.30 0.65 1.40 0.90 0.70 1.90-2.475 3.00 0.85 1.80 1.20 0.80

When the top surfaces (10, 15) of the cover (3) and the holder (2) arebrought together, the respective pavilion recesses (11) and crownrecesses (16) extend above each other as shown in FIG. 8, wherein thesetogether form an accommodation space (11, 16) for accommodating a stone(4) to be transported.

In practice, after bringing the top surfaces (10, 15) onto each other, asmall clearance (H_(m)) is present between the holder (2) and the cover(3). The preferred dimensions above take into account this clearance(H_(m)).

Said accommodation space (11, 16) is formed such that a stone (4) placedtherein for transport touches only and exclusively the contact part (12)in its normal transport position, wherein its contact zone rests againstthe contact part (12).

This accommodation space (11, 16) in the embodiment shown is formedsymmetrically relative to its axis (A). After a stone (4) has beenplaced in the accommodation space (11, 16), the axis (B) of this stonecoincides with the axis (A) of this accommodation space (11, 16) asshown in FIG. 8.

In the embodiment shown of a transport element (1) according to thisinvention, this accommodation space (11, 16) extends partly into theholder (2) and partly into the cover (3). The contact part (21) alwaysextends into the holder (2). In alternative embodiments, a larger orsmaller part of the crown recess (16) may extend into the holder (2), orthe accommodation space (11, 16) may extend completely into the holder(2). This may hinder the insertion of a stone (4) into the accommodationspace (11, 16) and the removal of a stone (4) from this accommodationspace (11, 16).

A stone (4) may be placed largely in two different ways in an embodimentof a transport element (1) according to this invention with holder (2)and cover (3).

According to a first method, the holder (2) is positioned with thepavilion recesses (11) upward and the stone (4) with its culet (9)downward is placed in a pavilion recess (11). The stone (4) isautomatically brought into its desired position in the pavilion recess(11) under gravity, by a guidance of its pavilion (11) over the contactpart (12). The cover (3) with its crown recesses (16) downward is thenplaced on the holder (2) so that the stone (4) extends into anaccommodation space (11, 16) formed by this pavilion recess (11) and thecorresponding crown recess (16) in the cover (3). The method ispreferred above all if a stone (4) is placed manually (with hand tools,such as for example pincers) in a transport element (2) according tothis invention.

According to a second method, the cover (3) is positioned with the crownrecesses (16) upward and the stone (4) with its table (5) downward isplaced in a crown recess (16). The holder (2) with its pavilion recesses(11) is then brought from below against the cover (3). If the stone (4)is not sitting centrally in the crown recess (16), by application of theholder (2) against the cover (3), by the contact part (12) acorresponding pavilion recess (11) of the holder (2) is guided to thecentre of this crown recess (16). When the holder (2) is placed on thecover (3), the stone (4) sits in the accommodation space (11, 16) formedby this crown recess (16) and pavilion recess (11).

Also when placing several stones (4) in such a transport element (1),first all stones (4) are placed in the corresponding openings (11, 16)of the holder (2) or cover (3) respectively before the cover (3) orholder (2) is then brought onto the holder (2) or cover (3)respectively.

The dimensions and form of the accommodation spaces (11, 16) of thetransport element (1) shown are selected such that after placing one ormore stones (4) in the transport element (1), the transport element (1)can be transported in all possible directions and even tilted.Preferably, a transport element (1) is provided with locking means (17,18, 19, 20, 21, 22) as in the embodiment depicted, so that the holder(2) and the cover (3) can be locked together to prevent accidentalopening.

In the embodiment shown, the cover (3) is provided with two depressions(25) (see FIGS. 10 and 11), in each of which a spring (20) (see FIG. 2)is clamped around some screws (27). This spring (20) may for example bemade from spring steel. The screws (27) shown in FIG. 2 are placed inscrew holes (24) in the cover (3) shown in FIGS. 4, 10 and 11.

Two openings (19, 21) are drilled inside the periphery of each saidspring (20). The holder (2) is provided with a locking pin (17) and arelease opening (23) corresponding to each depression (25) in the cover(3). The locking pins (17) may for example be made of iron (and itsalloys). Each locking pin (17) is placed at a position corresponding toa first of the two said openings (19, 21), namely the guide opening(19). This locking pin (17) has a diameter corresponding to this guideopening (19). Each release opening (23) is placed at a positioncorresponding to the second of the two said openings (19, 21), namelythe release opening (21). The guide opening (19) of the cover (3) has asmaller diameter than the release opening (23). When the transportelement (1) is opened, the spring (20) extends above the access openingsto both the guide opening (19) and the release opening (23). When theholder (2) is brought above the cover (3) (or vice versa), the lockingpins (17) engage in the guide openings (19) and thus guide the movementof bringing the holder (2) and the cover (3) together. The locking pins(17) have a conical end so they can be mounted self-centring in theseguide openings (19). Thus the pavilion recesses (11) in the holder (2)and the corresponding crown recesses (16) in the cover (3) come to liein the desired position relative to each other. At a distance from theirend (17), the locking pins (17) are provided with a gripping groove(18). When the holder (2) is brought against the cover (3), each spring(20) is first initially pressed outward by the corresponding locking pin(17), whereupon under its spring force it engages in this grippinggroove (18). Because each spring (20) engages in a correspondinggripping groove (18), the cover (3) can no longer easily be separatedfrom the holder (2). To be able to remove the cover (3), release pins(22) with a diameter corresponding to the release openings (21, 23) maybe placed in the various release openings (21, 23) and push out therespective springs (20). Since the release pins (22) have a largerdiameter than the locking pins (17), the springs (20) are pressed opensuch that the locking pins (17) can be removed from the guide openings(19) without further hindrance.

Said release pins (22) may form part of a hand tool or form part of akey (26) which is operated mechanically (for example in a settingdevice).

Such locking means (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22) described preferablycomprise at least two said guide pins (17) for controlling the movementof bringing together the holder (2) and the cover (3) as smoothly aspossible without shocks.

For embodiments without such locking means (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22),preferably similar pins (17) with a conical top (but not necessarilywith such a gripping groove (18)) may be provided on the holder (2)and/or the cover (3), and corresponding guide openings (19) inrespectively the cover (3) and/or the holder (2), to ensure that whenthe holder (2) and cover (3) are brought together, the pavilion recesses(11) and corresponding crown recesses (16) come to lie in the desiredposition relative to each other.

1. Transport element (1) for transporting stones (4) with a round cutwith a table (5), crown (6), girdle (7), pavilion (8) and culet (9),such as precious stones, semi-precious stones or non-precious stones,comprising a holder (2) on which the stones (4) can be placed fortransport, characterized in that the holder (2) has a top surface (10)in which a pavilion recess (11) is made for each stone (4) foraccommodating the culet (9) and at least part of the pavilion (8) of thecorresponding stone (4), wherein this pavilion recess (11) has at leastone contact part (12) which is formed tapering away from the top surface(10) with a taper which deviates by maximum 10° from the correspondingtaper of the pavilion (8), for supporting thereon a contact zone of thepavilion (8) between the girdle (7) and the culet (9) so that the girdle(7) remains outside the contact part (12), and wherein the pavilionrecess (11) is formed such that after being placed in the pavilionrecess (11), said stone (4) touches only and exclusively this contactpart (12).
 2. Transport element (1) according to claim 1, characterizedin that the taper of the contact part (12) is greater than the taper ofthe pavilion (8).
 3. Transport element (1) according to claim 1 or 2,characterized in that the transport element (1) has a cover (3) whereinthe cover (3) has a top surface (15) in which a corresponding crownrecess (16) is made for each stone (4), for accommodating the table (5)and at least part of the crown (6) of the stone (4), wherein the crownrecess (16) has a smallest dimension (D_(k)) at the level of the girdle(7) which is smaller than the sum of the smallest diameter (D_(p)) ofthe contact part (12) and the diameter (D_(r)) of the girdle (7), andwhich is greater than the greatest diameter (D_(a)) of the contact part(12), wherein when the top surfaces (10, 15) of the cover (3) and holder(2) are brought against each other, the pavilion recess (11) and thecrown recess (16) for a said stone (4) extend above each other andtogether form an accommodation space (11, 16) for the stone (4), andwherein the pavilion recess (11) and the crown recess (16) are formedsuch that said stone (4) touches only and exclusively this contact part(12) when it is placed in the accommodation space (11, 16) with itscontact zone resting against the contact part (12).
 4. Transport element(1) according to claim 3, characterized in that each crown recess (16)has a depth (H_(k)) which is smaller than the height (H_(s)) of thecorresponding stone (4).
 5. Transport element (1) according to claim 4,characterized in that each crown recess (16) has a depth (H_(k)) whichcorresponds approximately to 0.47 times the diameter (D_(r)) of thegirdle (7) less minimum 0.03 mm and maximum 0.07 mm.
 6. Transportelement (1) according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in thateach crown recess (16) is formed largely cylindrical.
 7. Transportelement (1) according to any of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that theaccommodation space (11, 16) is designed symmetrical relative to an axis(A), which coincides approximately with the axis (B) of the stone (4)when the corresponding stone (4) is placed on the contact part (12). 8.Transport element (1) according to any of the preceding claims,characterized in that the contact part (12) of each pavilion recess (11)is formed conical at an angle (α_(a)) which is more obtuse than theangle (α_(s)) of the pavilion (8).
 9. Transport element (1) according toclaim 8, characterized in that the angle (α_(a)) of the contact part(12) of each pavilion recess (11) is approximately 100°.
 10. Transportelement (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized inthat the contact part (12) of each pavilion recess (11) borders the topsurface (10) of the holder (2).
 11. Transport element (1) according toany of the preceding claims, characterized in that each pavilion recess(11) comprises a cylindrical part (13) which connects to the contactpart (12) away from the top surface (10).
 12. Transport element (1)according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that eachpavilion recess (11) has a base (14) which is formed conical. 13.Transport element (1) according to any of the preceding claims,characterized in that each pavilion recess (11) has a base (14), whereinthe distance between the base (14) and the contact part (12) is greaterthan the distance between the contact part (12) of the correspondingstone (4) and the culet (9).
 14. Transport element (1) according to anyof the preceding claims, characterized in that the transport element (1)is made largely of steel.
 15. Transport element (1) according to any ofthe preceding claims and claim 3, characterized in that the transportelement (1) has locking means (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22) for locking thecover (3) to the holder (2).
 16. Transport element (1) according toclaim 15, characterized in that the holder (2) is provided with at leasttwo locking pins (17), each of which is provided with a gripping groove(18) on the periphery, that the cover (3) is provided with twocorresponding guide openings (19) in which these locking pins (17) canbe placed, and with two corresponding locking elements (20) which areplaced at the guide openings (19) and are moveable between a firstposition, in which these are intended to open the guide openings (19) sothe corresponding locking pins (22) can move freely in and out of theguide openings (19), and a second position, in which these lockingelements (20) are intended to engage in the corresponding grippinggrooves (18) of the corresponding locking pins (17) when these areplaced in the guide openings (19), and that the said locking pins (17),guide openings (19) and locking elements (20) form part of said lockingmeans (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22).
 17. Transport element (1) according toclaim 16, characterized in that next to each guide opening (19), thecover (3) comprises a release opening (21) with a diameter which isgreater than the diameter of the guide opening (19), wherein a releasepin (22) with a corresponding diameter can be placed in each releaseopening (21), and that each locking element (20) is configured as aspring element (20) which is largely positioned around the correspondingguide opening (19) and corresponding release opening (21), so that whena release pin (22) is placed in the release opening (21), the springelement deflects and moves to its first position, and when the releasepin (22) is removed from the release opening (21), the spring openingelement (20) is brought into its second position under its spring force.18. Method for placing a stone (4) in a transport element (1) accordingto any of the preceding claims and claim 3, characterized in that thecover (3) is positioned with the crown recesses (16) upward, the stone(4) is laid on its table (5) in the crown recess (16), the holder (2)with the pavilion recesses (11) downward is placed onto the cover (3),the transport element (1) is inverted so that the holder (2) is belowthe cover (3).
 19. Method according to claim 18) for placing a stone (4)in a transport element according to any of claims 15 to 17,characterized in that before inversion of the transport element (1),first the cover (3) is locked to the holder (2).